BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•O 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


WHY  I  BELIEVE 

The  Book  of  Mormon 


TO  BE 


The  Word  of  God 


By  WILLIAM  A.  MORTON 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 


COPYRIGHT    1918 

By 

WILLIAM   A.    MORTON 
(Fourth    Edition) 


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fwl  0  o , 


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WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF 

MORMON  TO  BE  THE  WORD 

OF  GOD 

By    William    A.    Morton. 

''Search  the  scriptures;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 
eternal  life:  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me.'' — John 
5:39. 

This  little  booklet  is  issued  in  response  to  nu- 
merous requests  received  from  people  who  have  heard 
me  speak  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  who  were  de- 
sirous of  seeing  the  address  in  print.  It  is  a  simple, 
unpretentious  effort,  yet  we  know  that  "by  very  small 
and  simple  means  the  Lord  doth  confound  the  wise, 
and  bringeth  about  the  salvation  of  many  souls." 

For  more  than  30  years  I  have  been  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints. 
During  this  time  I  have  read  and  studied  the  Book  of 
Mormon  a  great  deal,  and  I  -say,  in  all  sincerity,  that 
the  more  I  study  the  book  the  more  thoroughly  I  be- 
come convinced  that  it  is  a  divinely-inspired  record. 
I  believe  implicitly  in  the  Book  of  Mormon;  I 
believe  it  to  be  the  word  of  God  to  the  Nephites  and 
Lamanites  who  once  inhabited  this  continent,  even 
as  I  believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  'God  to  the 
Jews  and  also  to  the  Gentiles. 

If  I  did  not  believe  Joseph  Smith's  testimony  con- 
cerning the  Book  of  Mormon,  I  could  not  believe  his 
testimony  that  he  had  seen  God  the  Father  and  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Son,  and  had  conversed  with  them  in  open 
vision;  neither  could  I  believe  his  testimony  that  he 
had  been  visited  by  John  the  Baptist,  and  had  been 
ordained  by  him  to  the  Aaronic  priesthood;  that  he 
had  been  ministered  unto  by  Peter,  James  and  John, 
and  had  been  ordained  by  them  an  apostle  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ;  that  he  had  seen  Moses,  and  received 


4  WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MOEMON 

from  him  the  keys  of  the  gathering  of  Israel  from 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  leading  of  the  Ten 
Tribes  from  the  land  of  the  north;  that  he  had  seen 
the  Prophet  Elijah,  and  had  obtained  from  him  the 
keys  of  turning  "the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  child- 
ren, and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers." 

If  Joseph  Smith's  testimony  concerning  the  Book 
of  Mormon  be  false,  then  his  testimony  concerning  all 
these  other  things  may  be  equally  false;  and  if  so, 
tens  of  thousands  of  people  haye  been  grossly  de- 
ceived. But  if  Joseph  Smith's  testimony  in  relation 
to  the  Book  of  Mormon  be  true,  then  we  may  reason- 
ably believe  that  he  spoke  the  truth  when  he  declared 
that  he, had  seen  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  also  the 
angelic  beings  to  whom  I  have  referred. 

What  will  the  Book  of  Mormon  do  for  us?  It  will 
help  us  solve  any  theological  problem  that  may  be 
presented  to  us.  By  way  of  illustration:  When  I  was 
a  youth,  serving  an  apprenticeship  to  the  printing 
trade,  one  of  the  printers  took  delight  in  propounding 
riddles  and  problems  to  his  fellow-workmen.  One  day 
he  said  to  the  other  compositors:  "I  have  a  new  prob- 
lem for  you:  A  blacksmith  had  an  anvil,  composed  of 
four  pieces,  with  which  he  could  weigh  from  one 
pound  up  to  forty  pounds.  Find  the  weight  of  each 
piece."  The  printers  put  their  heads  together  and  in  a 
short  time  the  problem  was  solved.  One  piece  of  the 
anvil  weighed  one  pound,  another  piece  weighed  three 
pounds,  another,  nine  pounds,  and  the  fourth  piece, 
twenty-seven  pounds.  With  these  weights  a  person 
can  weigh  from  one  pound  up  to  forty  pounds. 

Now,  once  we  become  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  is  true,  it  will,  as  I  have  said, 
solve  any  theological  problem  that  may  confront  us. 
Do  we  want  knowledge  concerning  God,  His  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Holy  Ghost?  We  can  get  it  in 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  Would  we  know  concerning  the 
pre-existence  of  spirits?  Such  knowledge  may  be  ob- 
tained from  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Do  we  desire  to 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD 


know  if  the  fall  of  man  and  the  atonement  made  by 
Jesus  Christ  are  facts?  The  Book  of  Mormon  will  an- 
swer these  questions.  Do  we  wish  to  know  what  the 
principles  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  are? 
They  are  taught  in  plainness  in  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
If  we  desire  information  regarding  the  intermediate 
state — the  state  in  which  the  spirits  of  men  live 
between  the  time  of  death  and  the  resurrection — we 
can  find  it  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Is  our  faith  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  weak?  The  Book  of 
Mormon  will  greatly  strengthen  it.  So  you  see  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  is  one  of  the  most  precious 
gifts  that  God  has  given  to  man. 

There  are,  as  the  reader,  no  doubt,  knows,  two 
theories  respecting  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon. One  of  these  is  the  Solomon  Spaulding  theory, 
which  has  been  strongly  advocated  by  anti-Mormons 
in  order  to  keep  people  from  believing  the  Book  of 
Mormon  to  be  a  divinely-inspired  record.  According 
to  this  theory,  a  man  named  Solomon  Spaulding,  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  Ohio,  wrote  a  book 
in  which  he  purported  to  give  an  account  of  the  origin 
of  the  American  Indians.  After  Mr.  Spaulding's 
death,  the  manuscript,  so  it  is  asserted,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Joseph  Smith,  who,  with  others,  conspired 
to  publish  it  and  present  it  to  the  world  as  a  sacred 
history  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  America. 

This  theory  is  so  absurd  that  it  is  surprising  to 
me  it  did  not,  "like  the  new  moon,  set  with  its  rising.' 
Solomon  Spaulding,  be  it  known,  was  a  Presbyterian 
minister;  but  this  fact  has  been  carefully  concealed 
by  those  who  have  advocated  the  theory  that  Mr. 
Spaulding  was  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
Had  they  let  this  fact  be  known  undoubtedly  they 
would  have  aroused  suspicion  and  greatly  weakened 
their  argument.  For  this  reason:  Presbyterian  min- 
isters do  not  write  books  condemning  in  strong  terms 
certain  tenets  of  their  church.  There  is  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  much  that  is  at  variance  with  doctrines 


6  WHY     I    RELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

taught  by  the  Presbyterian  church;  indeed,  there  is 
very  little  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  that  is  compatable 
with  Presbyteriamsm.  There  is  not  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  world  that  believes  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  On  the  contrary,  Presbyterian  ministers 
have  been  the  loudest  in  condemning  fthe  book. 
A  Presbyterian  minister  could  not  write  the  Book 
of  Mormon  if  he  would,  and  he  would  not  write 
it  if  he  could.  I  will  here  state  that  the  Spaulding 
manuscript  was  discovered  in  1884,  and  is  at  pre- 
sent in  the  library  of  Gberlin  College,  Ohio.  On 
examination  it  was  found  to  bear  no  resemblance 
whatever  to  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  theory  that 
Solomon  Spaulding  was  the  author  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  should  never  be  mentioned  again — outside 
a  museum. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  other  theory 
— the  one  held  and  advocated  by  the  Church;  namely, 
that  a  heavenly  messenger  named  Moroni  appeared 
,  to  Joseph  Smith  and  told  the  youth  about  a  set  of 
gold  plales  which  were  hid  in  a  hill  a  short  dis- 
tance from  his  home,  on  which  was  engraved  a 
history  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  America;  that 
.four  years  later  Joseph  Smith  was  permitted  to 
take  the  plates  from  their  hiding  place;  that  through 
the  gift  and  power  of  God  he  translated  them  into 
English  and  presented  to  the  world  'the  Book  of 
Mormon. 

Now,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  Church  has 
spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  printing  and  distribut- 
ing; the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  that  tens  of  thousands 
of  missionaries  have  been  sent  with  its  message  to 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  Why  has  the  Church  done 
this?  In  order  to  perpetuate  fraud?  Verily,  no; 
but  that  the  world  might  have  a  new  witness  for  God 
and  His  Christ,  and  be  brought  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  everlasting  gospel,  the  principles  and  ordi- 
nances of  which,  as  I  have  said,  are  set  forth  in 
great  plainness  in  the  Book  of  Mormon. 


TO     BE,    THE     WORD     OP     GOD 


1  have  read  Joseph  Smith's  account  of  the  com- 
ing forth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  many  times,  and 
I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  spoke  the  truth. 
It  is  much  easier  for  me  to  believe  Joseph  Smith's  ac. 
count  of  the  origin  of  the  Book  or  Mormon  than  it 
would  be  for  me  'to  believe  that  the  wonder 
fill  story,  with  'all  its  details,  was  the  product  of 
Joseph  Smith's  imagination.  It  is  surprising  to  me 
that  intelligent  people  can-  believe  that  an  unlearned 
and  unsophisticated  youth  like  Joseph  Smith  could 
make  up  such  a  story.  .No.  the  story  is  too  big, 
too  great,  too  wonderful,  for  the  mind  of  mortal  man 
to  conceive.  When  1  was  a  child  I  learned  a  num- 
ber of  nursery  rhymes,  among  them  the  following: 

"Sing   a   song   of   sixpence,   a   pocket,    full   of    rye. 
Four    and     twenty     hla«-k  l»inls     kiked     in     a     pic; 
\Vlien  the  pie  was   opened   the   Itirds    hr-an    to   ^ini;-'1 
Wasn't   that   a   dainty   dish    to   set    )>efor<;   the   king?'1 

Now,  when  someone  succeeds  in  making  mo 
believe  that  itwenty-four  blackbirds  were  caught, 
killed,  plucked,  baked  in  a  pie,  and  that  when  the 
pie  was  opened  the  birds  came  out  and  began  to  sing, 
then  perhaps  I  may  be  led  to  believe  that  Joseph 
Smith  manufactured,  out  of  whole  cloth,  his  won- 
derful story  of  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
But  not  until  then. 

I  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon  because  I  believe 
the  Bible — because  I  believe  the  prophets,  Christ  and 
the  apostles.  There  are  in  the  Bible  numerous  pro- 
phecies concerning  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  it  may 
be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  hear  how — by  means 
of  these  prophecies — I  succeeded  in  persuading  a 
family  to  read  the  Book  of  Mormon.  They  after- 
wards became  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The 
first  time  I  visited  the  family  I  taught  them  about 
the  true  and  living  God — in  whose  image  man  is 
created — and  about  Jesus  Christ,  His  Only  Begotten 
Son,  the  Savior  and  Redeemer  of  the  world.  On  my 
second  visit  I  taught  them  the  principles  of  faith 
and  repentance.  The  third  time  I  visited  the  family 


8  WHY    1    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

I  taught  them  the  ordinances  of  baptism  by  immer- 
sion for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  the  laying  on  of 
hands  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  On  succeeding 
visits  I  showed  that  it  is  necessary  for  a  man  to  hold 
Divine  authority — to  be  "called  of  God,  as  was 
Aaron," — in  order  for  him  to  preach  the  gospel  and 
administer  in  the  ordinances  thereof.  I  also  explain- 
ed the  organization  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  with 
"apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  teachers" 
etc.  I  brought  forth  evidence  from  the  Bible  in  sup- 
port of  all  these  things,  and  as  the  members  of  the 
family  were  firm  believers  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
they  acknowledged  that  what  I  had  taught  them  was 
true. 

But  when  I  next  visited  the  family,  I  found  that 
a  great  change  had  come  over  them.  Instead  of  giv- 
ing me  a  cordial  welcome,  as  they  had  done  before, 
they  received  me  coldly.  I  soon  learned  the  reason. 
Addressing  me,  the  wife  and  mother  said:  "I  feel  that 
we  have  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways.  For  days 
I  have  had  the  impression  that  this  evening  you 
would  present  to  us  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  try  to 
persuade  us  to  accept  it  as  the  word  of  God.  If  such 
is  your  intention,  you  may  just  as  well  leave  now, 
for  I  do  not  think  you  could  ever  succeed  in  getting 
us  to  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon."  , 

I  asked  the  good  woman  if  she  had  ever  read  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  She  confessed  she  had  not;  she 
had  not  even  seen  the  book,  neither  had  any  member 
of  the  family.  I  said  I  considered  it  rather  unfair 
for  people  to  pass  judgment  on  a  book  without  hav- 
ing read  it.  Then  I  asked  the  lady  if  she  believed 
the  things  I  had  taught  her  and  the  members  of 
her  family,  on  my  former  visits.  Yes,  she  believed 
all  of  them — because  I  had  proved  them  by  the 
Bible. 

"Then,  if  I  prove  to  you  by  the  Bible  that  the 
Book  of  Mormon  is  true,  you  will  also  believe  the 
Book  of  Mormon?" 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD  9 

To  this  she  replied:  "If  you  prove  to  us  by  evi- 
dence from  the  Bible  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  a 
true  record,  we  will  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon 
just  as  we  believe  the  Bible."  This  the  'other 
members  of  the  family  likewise  agreed  to. 

"Before  considering  the  Book  of  Mormon,"  I  said 
"I  desire  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  coming 
of  Christ.  Cod,  as  you  very  well  know,  did  not  send 
His  Son  into  the  world  without  telling  the  world 
about  His  coming.  For  hundreds  of  years  prior  to 
the  birth  of  the  Savior  the  children  of  Israel  were 
taught,  in  divers  ways,  concerning  Him — concerning 
His  birth,  His  life,  and  also  His  death  upon  the  cross. 
The  sacrifices  offered  by  Adam  and  his  sons  were 
similitudes  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,  as  was  also  the  sacrifice  which  the 
Almighty  required  of  Abraham,  of  which  we  read 
in  the  22nd  chapter  of  Genesis: 

"  'And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  did 
tempt  Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Abraham:  And  he  said, 
Behold,  here  I  am. 

'  'And  lie  said,  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac, 
whom  thou  lovest,  and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah ; 
and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt  offering  npon  one  of  the 
mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of.'  (Genesis  22:1,  2.) 

''This  sacrifice,  while  required  of  Abraham  as  a 
test  of  his  fa.ith,  was  a  type  of  a  far  greater  sacrifice 
— the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  we  have  rea- 
son for  believing  that  Abraham  saw  in  his  sacrifice 
a  type  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  only-begotten  of  the 
Father,  for  Christ,  while  addressing  the  Jews  on  one 
occasion,  said:  'Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see 
my  day;  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad.'  (John  8:56.) 

"In  Abraham  and  Isaac  we  have  a  representa- 
tion of  God  and  Christ — a  coming  event  casting  its 
shadow  before  it. 

"Later,  the  Lord  taught  the  children  of  Israel 
in  a  still  clearer  way  concerning  the  sacrifice  of  His 
beloved  Son,  as  recorded  in  the  12th  chapter  o{ 
Exodus ; 


WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    JIOOK    OK    MORMON 


"  'And  the  Lord  spnke  unto  Moses  and  Aaron  in  t  he- 
land  of  Egypt,  saying, 

'  '(speak  ye  unto  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  saying, 
In  the  tenth  day  of  this  month  Miey  shall  take  to  them 
every  man  a  lamb,  according  to  the  house  of  their  fathers, 
a  lamb  for  a  house. 


''  'Your  lamb  .shall  he-  Avithout  blemish,  a  male  of  the 
first  year;  ye  shall  take  it  out  from  the  sheep,  or  from  the 
goats : 

'  'And  ye  shall  keep  it  up  until  the  fourteenth  day  of 
the  same  month:  and  the  whole  assembly  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  Israel  .shall  kill  it  in  the  evening. 

"  'And  they  shall  take  of  the  blood,  and  strike  it 
on  the  two  side  posts  and  on  the  upper  door  post  of  the 
houses,  wherein  they  shall  eat  it: 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

11  'And  thus  shall  yc  cat  it:  with  your  loins  girded, 
your  shoes  on  your  feet,  and  your  staff  in  your  hand  :  and 
ye  shall  eal  it  in  haste;  it  is  the  Lord's  passover. 

''  'For  1  Avill  pass  through  the  land  of  Egypt  this 
night,  and  will  smite  all  the  first  born  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  both  man  and  beast  :  and  against  all  the  god-  of 
Egypt  T  Avill  execute  judgment:  I  am  the  Lord. 

''  'And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  token  upon 
the  houses  where  ye  are:  and  when  I  see  the  blood.  I  will 
pass  over  you,  and  the  plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  de- 
stroy you,  when  f  smite  the  land  of  Egypt. 

'•  'And  this  day  shall  be  unto  you  for  a  memorial;  and 
ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  to  the  Lord  throughout  your  genera- 
tions; ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  by  an  ordinance  forever.'  Exo- 
dus 12:1,  3,5-7,  11-14;) 

"It  is  needless  for  me  to  tell  you,"  I  said  to  the 
family,  "that  the  sacrificial  lamb  was  a  type  of  the 
Lamb  of  God,  and  that  the  blood  of  the  lamb  which 
was  shed  to  save  the  first-born  of  the  children  of 
Israel  was  a  representation  of  the  blood  of  Christ 
which  was  to  be  shed  to  save  the  world." 

They  told  me  that  such  was  their  understand- 
ing of  the  Scriptures. 

I  continued:  "In  the  21st  chapter  of  Numbers  we 
are  told  about  another  way  in  which  the  children 
of  Israel  were  taught  concerning  the  Messiah."  I 
read  the  following: 

"  'And  the  people  spake  against  God,  and  against 
Moses,  Wherefore  have  ye  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to 


TO     BE     THE     WORfr     OF     GOD 


die  in  the  wilderness?  for  there  is  no  bread,  neither  is  there 
any  water;  and  our  soul  loatheth  this  light  bread. 

''  'And  the  Lord  sent  firry  serpents  among  the  people, 
and  they  bit  the  people;  and  iniu-h  people  of  Israel  died. 

"  'Therefore  the  people  came  to  Moses,  and  said,  We 
have  sinned  for  we  have  spoken  against  the  Lord,  and 
against  thee ;  pray  unto  the  Lord,  that  he  take  away  the 
serpents  from  us.  'And  Moses  prayed  for  the  people. 

"  'And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Make  thee  a  fiery 
serpent,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole:  and  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  every  one  that  is  bitten  -when  he  looketh  upon  it  shall 
live.  • 

11  'And  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and  put  it  upon 
a  pole:  and  it  came  to  pass,  that  if  ;>.  serpent  had  bitte'i  any 
man,  when  he  beheld  the  serpent  of  brass,  he  lived."  (Num- 
bers 21:5-9.) 

Then  the  lady  of  the  house  said:  "This  Scrip- 
ture is  quite  clear  to  us.  We  see  in  the  serpent  on 
the  pole  a  type  of  the  Savior  on  the  cross.  In  His 
conversation  with  Nicodemus,  Jesus  said:  'And  as 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up:  That  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life."  (John  3:14,  15.) 

Addressing  the  family  again,  I  said:  "I  now  de- 
sire to  show  you  how,  by  means  of  prophecy,  the 
Jews  were  taught  concerning  the  Messiah.  We  find 
in  the  7th  chapter  of  Isaiah  the  following  plain  pre- 
diction relative  to  the  birth  of  the  Savior: 

"  'Therefore  the  Lord  himself  sholl  give  -you  n  sign  : 
Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall 
call  his  name  Immanuel.'  (Isaiah  7:14.) 

''And  by  another  prophet  the  Almighty  foretold 
the  place  of  the  Redeemer's  birth,  as  follows: 


l'In  the  53rd  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  find  the  life 
of  the  Savior  thus  clearly  portrayed  by  the  prophet: 

"  'Who    hath    believed    our    report?    and    to    whom    is    the 
arm  of  the  Lord  revealed? 


12  WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

'  'For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant 
and  as  a  root  out  of  •  a  dry  ground ;  he  hath  no  form  nor 
comeliness;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty 
that  we  should  desire  him. 

'  'He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sor- 
roAvs,  and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our 
faces  from  him ;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him 
not. 

'Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows;  yet  \ve  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted.  • 

'  'But  he  Avas  \vounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  \vas 
bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  him;  and  Avith  his  stripes  AVC  are  healed. 

'  'All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  OAVII  way;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all. 

'  'He  Avas  oppressed,  and  he  Avas  afflicted,  yet  he 
opened  not  his  mouth:  he  is  brought  as  a)  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so 
he  openeth  not  his  mouth. 

"  'He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment:  and 
who  shall  declare  his  'generation?  for  he  was.  cut  off  out  of 
the  land  of  the  living:  for  the  transgression  of  my  people 
Avas  he  stricken. 

li  'And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  Avicked,  and  with 
the  rich  in  his  death;  because  he  had  done  no  violence, 
neither  was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth. 

'  'Yet   it   pleased    the    Lord    to   bruise    him;    he    hath    put 
him    to   grief:    when    thou    shalt   make   his    soul    an    offering   for        ^ 
sin,   he  shall   see   his   seed,   he   shall  prolong   his   days,   and   the 
pleasure   of  the   Lord   shall  prosper   in  his   hand. 

''  'He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be 
satisfied:  by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify 
many;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities. 

"  'Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great 
and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong;  because  he 
hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death;  a.nd  he  Avas  num- 
bered Avith  the  transgressors;  and  he  .bare  the  sin  of  many 
and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors.'  "  (Isaiah  53.) 

It  was  the  firm  belief  of  the  family  that  in  Jesus 
Christ — and  in  Him  alone — all  these  things  had  been 
fulfilled: 

He  was  the  sacrfice  foreshadowed  in  the  sacrifi- 
ces offered  by  Adam  and  his  sons. 

He  was  the  sacrifice  of  which  Isaac  was  a  type. 

He  was  the  Lamb  slain  from  before  the  foundation 

of  the  world,  and  typified  in  the  lamb  sacrificed  by 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD  13 

the  children  of  Israel  in  their  passover. 

He  was  the  One  raised  up  to  heal  the  nations  of 
the  terrible  consequences  of  sin,  even  as  the  brazen 
serpent  was  lifted  up  to  heal  the  afflicted  Israelites. 

He  was  the  One  Isaiah  had  prophesied  would  be 
born  of  a  virgin. 

He  was  the  Ruler  prophesied  of  by  Micah,  who 
would  come  out  of  Bethlehem. 

He  was  the  One  referred  to  by  Isaiah,  who  would 
be  "led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter;"  who  would  be 
"wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruised  for  our 
iniquities,"  and  with  whose  "stripes  we.  are  healed. 

Having  thus  spoken  concerning  Christ,  I  set  to 
work  to  try  to  convince  the  family — with  evidence 
from  the  Bible — that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  true.  I 
first  called  their  attention  to  the  following  prophecy 
made  by  Jacob  concerning  his  son  Joseph: 

''Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough,  even  a  fruitful  bough  by  a 
voll,  whose  branches  run  over  the  wall : 

"The  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him,  'and  shot  at  him, 
and  hated  him: 

"But  his  bow  abode  in  strength,  and  the  arms  of  his 
hands  were  made  strong-  by  the  hands  of  the  mightiy 
God  of  Jacob;  (from  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of 
Israel ; ) 

"Even  by  the  God  of  thy  father,  who  shall  help  thee; 
and  by  the  Almighty,  who  shall  bless  thee  with  blessings 
of  heaven  above,  blessings  of  the  deep  that  lieth  under, 
bles.sinsrs  of  the  breasts  and  of  the  womb; 

"The  blessings  of  thy  father  have  prevailed  above  the 
blessings  of  my  progenitors  unto  the  utmost  bounds  of  the 
everlasting  hills;  they  shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph,  and 
on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  him  that  was  separate  from  his 
brethren."  (Genesis  49:22-26.) 

I  asked  the  family  if  they  knew  about  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  prophecy.  No,  they  did  not.  They 
had  read  the  prophecy,  but  they  did  not  know  when 
or  how  it  had  been  fulfilled. 

I  told  them  that,  according  to  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, in  the  year  600  B.  C.,  a  little  company  of  Israeli- 
tes, descendants  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob  was 
led  by  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem  to  the  land  that  is 


14          WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

now  called  America,  where  they  became  a  great  na- 
tion. Many  prophets  were  raised  up  among  them, 
who  taught  them  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
also  taught  the  coming  of  Christ,  even  as  the  prophets 
had  taught  the  people  on  the  eastern  continent.  They 
kept,  on  metallic  plates,  a  record  of  the  important 
events  that  took  place  among  them,  and  also^of  the 
Lord's  dealings  with  them.  After  His  resurrection, 
Christ  appeared  to  them,  and  ministered  unto  them. 
He  taught  them  the  gospel  and  established  'His 
Church  among  them.  For  nearly  400  years -after- 
wards they  lived  in  peace  and  happiness.  Then 
pride  began  to  manifest  itself  among  them;  they 
became  divided,  contentions  followed,  and  later  ter- 
rible wars,  in  which  countless  thousands  of  lives 
were  sacrificed.  A  short  time  before  his  death,  Mo- 
roni, the  last  of  their  prophets,  at  the  command  of 
the  Lord,  finished  their  records  and  buried  them 
in  the  earth,  in  a  hill  named  Cumorah.  There  they 
lay  for  hundreds  of  years.  On  the  21st  of  September, 
1823,  Moroni  appeared  to  Joseph  Smith  and  told  him 
about  the  sacred  records  which  he  (Moroni)  had  de- 
posited in  Cumorah.  Four  years  later  Joseph  Smith 
was  permitted  to  take  the  records  from  their  hid- 
ing place.  Through  the  gift  and  power  of  God  he 
translated  them  into  English,  the  result  of  his  work 
being  the  Book  of  Mormon.  This  is,  in  brief,  a 
history  of  the  branches  of  Joseph  referred  to  by 
Ja,cob,  the  branches  that  ran  over  the  wall  (the 
great  ocean)  even  "unto  the  utmost  bounds  of  the 
everlasting  hills." 

The  family  manifested  interest  in  what  I  told 
them,  but  were  by  no  means  ready  to  accept  the  Book 
of  Mormon  as  the  word  of  God.  I  asked  them,  if 
they  were  familiar  with  the  prophery  Isaiah  had  made 
concerning  the  branches  of  the  house  of  Israel  to 
which  I  had  just  referred.  No;  their  attention  had 
never  been  called  to  such  a  prophecy.  We  read 
follows: 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD  15 

''And  them  shalt  be  brought  down,  and  shalt  -speak 
out  of  the  ground,  and  thy  speech  shall  be  low  out  of  the 
du^t.  and  thy  voice  shall  be  as  of  one  that  hath  a  familiar 
spirit,  out  of  the  ground,  and  thy  speech  shall  whisper 
out  of  the  dust."  (  Isaiah  29.4.) 

"I  have  just  told  you,  my  friends,"  I  said,  "how 
this  prophecy  was  fulfilled.  1  told  you  about  the 
branches  of  the  house  of  Israel  that  were  brought 
down,  even  unto  destruction.  I  also  told  you  how 
these  people  had — by  means  of  their  records — spoK^i 
"out  of  the  ground,"  aa«i  "whispered  out  of  the 
dust,"  just  as  the  Prophet  Isaiah  predicted. 

"There  is  a  somewhat  similar  prophecy,  made  by 
the  Psalmist  David,  which  is  recorded  in  the  85th 
Psalm,  as  follows:  • 

11  'Truth  shall  spring  out  of  the  earth;  and  righteous- 
ness' shall  look  down  from  heaven."  (Psalms,  85:11.) 

"This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the  angel 
Moroni  came  down  from  heaven  and  when  a 'volume 
of  truth  (the  Book  of  Mormon)  came  out  of  the 
earth. 

"There  is  another  prophecy,  made  by  Isaiah, 
concerning  a  sealed  book  that  was  to  come  forth. 
This  prophecy  was,-  as  I  shall  show  you,  literally 
fulfilled  soon  after  the  plates  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon had  been  delivered  to  Joseph  Smith.  This  is  the 
prophecy: 

"  'And  the  vision  of  all  is  become  unto  you  as  the 
words  of  a  book  that  is  sealed,  which  men  deliver  to  one 
that,  is  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee:  and  he  saith, 
I  cannot;  for  it  is  sealed. 

''  '.And  the  book  is  delivered  to  him  that  is  not  learned, 
saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee:  and  he  ?aith,  I  am  not  learned. 

'•  'Wherefore,  the  Lord  said.  Forasmuch  as  this  people 
draw  near  me  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their  lips  do 
honor  me,  but  have  removed  their  heart  far  from  me,  and 
their  fear  toward  me  is  taught  by  the  precept  of  men: 

"  'Therefore,    behold.    I    will    proceed    to    do    a   marvelous 
\vork    among    this   people,    even    a   marvelous    work    and   a   won- 
der;    for    the    wisdom    of    their    wise    men    shall    perish,    and 
the    understanding    of    their    prudent    men    shall  !be    hid.'  ' 
(Isaiah   29:11-14.) 


16          WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

The  members  of  the  family  were  entirely  ig- 
norant concerning  this  prophecy.  They  had  never 
heard  of  it,  and  did  not  know  anything  about  its  ful- 
fillment. They  listened  attentively  while  I  related  how 
the  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled.  I  told  them  that  soon 
after  Joseph  Smith  had  commenced  tiie  work  of 
translating  the  engravings  on  the  plates,  a  man 
named  Martin  Harris,  who  had  befriended  the  pro- 
phet, came  to  him  and  asked  permission  to  take  the 
characters  which  Joseph  had  copied  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  to  show  to  a  lenrnecl  man  there.  To  this 
Joseph  readily  consented.  This  is  what  Mr.  Harris 
told  the  prophet  on  his  return: 

"J  went  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  presented  the 
characters  which  had  been  translated;  with  the  »^a,nsl«.tion 
thereof,  to  Professor  Charles  Anthon,  a  gentleman  celebrated 
for  his  literary  attainments.  Professor  Anthon  stated  that 
the  translation  was  correct,  more  so  than  any  he  had  before 
scon  translated  from  the  Egyptian.  I  then  showed  him  those 
which  were  not  translated,  and  he  said  that  they  were  Egypt- 
ian, Chaldaic,  Assyric,  and  Arabic;  and  he  said  they  were 
true  characters.  He  gave  me  a  certificate,  certifying  to  the 
people  of  Palmyra  that  they  were  true  characters,  and  that 
the  translation  of  such  of  them  as  had  been  translated  was 
also  correct.  I  took  the  certificate  and  put  it<  into  my  pocket 
and  was  just  leaving  the  house  when  Mr.  Anthon  called  me 
back,  and  asked  me  how  the  young  man  found  out  that 
there  were  gold  plates  in  the  place  where  he  found  them.  I 
answered  that  an  angel  of  God  had  revealed  it  unto  him. 
He  then  said  to  me,  'Let  me  see  that  certificate.'  I  accord- 
ingly took  it  out  of  my  pocket  and  gave  it  to  him,  when  he 
took  it  and  tore  it  to  pieces,  saying  that  there  was  no  such 
tiling  as  ministering  of  angels,  and  that  if  I  would  bring 
the  plates  to  him,  he  would  translate  them.  I  informed  him 
that  part  of  the  plates  were  sealed,  and  that  I  was  forbidden 
to  bring  them.  He  replied,  'I  cannot  read  a"  sealed  book." 
I  left  him  and  went  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  sanctioned  what 
Professor  Anthon  had  said  respecting  both  the  characters 
and  the  translation.''  (See  History  of  the  Church,  Vol 
p.  20.) 

Having  shown  how  Isaiah's  prophecy  with  refer- 
ence to  the  sealed  book  had  been  fulfilled,  I  directed 
the  attention  of  the  family  to  the  following  prophecy 
made  by  Ezekiel: 

''The   word    of   the    Lord    came    again   unto   me,    saying, 
"Moreover,    thou    son    of   man,    take    thee    one    stick,    and 


rs 

'• 

T- 


TO    BE     THE     WORD     OF    GOD  17 

write  upon  it  For  Judah,  and  for  the  children  of  Israel 
his  companions  then  take  another  stick,  and  write  upon 
it,  For  Joseph,  the  stick  of  Ephraim,  and  for  all  the  house 
of  Israel  his  companions : 

"And  join  them  one  to  another  into  one  stick;  and 
they  shall  become  one  in  thine  hand. 

"And  when  the  children  of  thy  people  shall  speak  unto 
thee,  saying,  Wilt  thou  not  shew  us  what  thou  meanest 
by  those  i 

"Say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I 
will  take  the  stick  of  Joseph,  which  is  in  the  hand  of 
hiphraini,  and  the  tribes  of  Israel  his  fellows,  and  will  put 
them  with 'him,  even  with  the  stick  of  Judah,  and  make  them 
one  stick,  and  they  shall  be  one  in  mine  hand. 

"And  the  sticks  whereon  thou  writest  shall  be  in  thine 
hand  before  their  eyes."  (Ezekiel  37:15-20.) 

Here  was  another  remarkable  prophecy  which 
had  entirely  escaped  the  attention  of  these  good  peo- 
ple, notwithstanding  they  had  read  the  Bible  for 
years.  I  asked  them  what  they  thought  the  prophet 
meant  by  "the  stick  of  Judah,"  and  the  mother  re- 
plied that,  in  her  opinion,  he  referred  to  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  the  Bibie.  Questioned  concerning  "the 
stick  of  Joseph,"  they  confessed  they  knew  nothing 
about  it.  Taking  up  the  Bible  and  the  Book  of 
Mormon  I  held  the  two  precious  records  in  my  hand 
and  said:  "Behold  the  fulfilment  of  Ezekiel's  pro- 
phecy! Here  you  see  'the  stick  of  Judah'  and  also 
'the  stick  of  Joseph,'  and  the  two  have  become  one 
in  my  hand." 

The  members  of  the  family  looked  at  each  other, 
and  the  father  said,  "We  have  heard  things  this 
evening  we  never  heard  before.  Why  has  our  mini- 
ster not  told  us  about  these  prophecies  and  their 
fulfilment?" 

I  replied:  "In  all  probability  your  minister  does 
not  know  about  their  fulfilment,  hence  his  silence 
concerning  them.  People  cannot  tell  what  they  do 
not  know." 

I  continued:  "Now  in  connection  with  the  pro- 
phecy which  Ezekiel  made  concerning  the  two  sticks 
that  were  to  be  joined  together,  I  will  read  y6u  what 
Christ  said  concerning  two  flocks  of  sheep  which  He 


18          WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

had,  and  which  He  said  would  be  gathered  into  one 
fold.  Here  are  His  words,  as  recorded  in  the  10th 
chapter  of  John: 

'  'I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and 
am  known  of  mine. 

44  'As  the  Father  knowetli  me,  even  so  know  I  the 
Father;  and  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep. 

4 '  'And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this 
fold:  them  also  1  must  bring,  arid  they  shall  hear  my  voice; 
and  there  shall  be  one  lold,  and  one  shepherd.'  (John 
10:14-16.) 

"Some  people  entertain  the  erroneous  belief," 
I  said,  "that  the  'other  sheep'  to  which  Christ  re- 
ferred were  the  Gentiles,  but  such  is  not  the  case. 
Christ  did  not  recognize  the  Gentiles  as  His  sheep; 
tney  did  not  hear  His  voice;  His  labors  were  confin- 
ed to  'the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.'  Hear  the 
words  which  He  spoke  to  His  disciples  on  the  wes- 
tern continent,  as  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Mormon: 

44  4And  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  are  they  of  whom 
I  said,  other  sheep  1  have  which  are  not  of  this  i'old ;  them 
also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice;  and 
there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd. 

44  4And  they  understood  me  not,  for  they  supposed 
it  had  been  the  Gentiles ;  for  they  understood  not  that  the 
Gentiles  should  be  converted  through  their  preaching. 

44  4And  they  understood  not  that  I  said  they  shall  hear 
my  voice;  and  they  understood  me  not  that  the  Gentiles 
should  not  at  any  time  hear  my  voice ;  that  I  should  not 
manifest  myself  unto  them,  save  it  were  by  the  Holy  G-host. 

•4  'But,  behold,  ye  have  both  heard  my  voice,  and  seen 
me ;  and  ye  are  my  sheep,  and  ye  are  numbered  among  those 
whom  the  Father  hath  given  me.'  (Ill  Nephi  15:21-24.) 

A  member  of  the  family  said:  "I  am  one  of  those 
who  believed  that  Christ  referred  to  the  Gentiles  as 
the  other  sheep  which  He  had,  but  I  see  now  that  1 
was  mistaken.  It  is  true,  as  you  have  said,  the  Sav- 
ior did  not  minister  to  the  Gentiles;  they  did  not 
hear  His  voice;  the  gospel  was  not  taken  to  them 
until  after  His  resurrection  and  ascension." 

By  this  time  the  family  :was  deeply  interested 
in  my  message.  I  told  them  there  was  one  more 
Scripture  to  which  I  desired 'to  draw  their  attention. 
It  was  an  extract  from  the  account  of  a  glorious 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD  19 

vision  which  the  Lord  gave  to  His  servant  John, 
while  the  apostle  was  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos.  Turn- 
ing to  the  14th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Revelation, 
I  read  the  following: 

''And  I  s;(\v  ai-.other  an^-el  i'h  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  p.  each  unto  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth,  and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people. 

"Saving  with  a  lond  voice.  Fear  (iod,  and  give  glory 
to  him;  i'or  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come:  and  worship 
him  that  made  heaven,  and  earth,  :md  the  sea,  ana  the 
fountains  of  waters.1'  (John  1-1:6,7.) 

The  family  entertained  a  strong  belief  in  John's 
vision — they  believed  that  in  the  hour  of  God's  judg- 
ments an  angel  would  come  to  earth;  that  he  would 
bring  with  him  the  everlasting  gospel,  which  would 
be  preached  to  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue  and  peo- 
ple. I  told  my  friends  they  were  very  much  like  the 
Jews  who  are  looking  for  a  Savior  to  come  that  has 
already  come.  They  were  looking  for  an  angel  to 
come  that  had  come;  for  the  restoration  of  the  gos- 
pel that  had  been  restored;  for  a  missionary  work 
to  commence  that  had  been  in  operation  for  years. 
I  told  them  the  heavenly  messenger  whom  John 
saw  in  vision  was  the  angel  Moroni,  who  appeared 
to  Joseph  Smith,  and  revealed  to  him  the  existence 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  contains  the  fulness 
of  the  everlasting  gospel,  which  gospel  is  now  being 
preached  among  the  nations,  "as  a  witness."  be- 
fore the  end  comes. 

"And  now,  my  friends,"  I  said,  "let  us  review 
the  .'Scriptures  I  have  quoted  to  prove  that  the  Book 
of  Mormon  is  a  true  record: 

In  the  49th  chapter  of  Genesis  you  read  the  pro- 
phecy which  Jacob  made  concerning  his  son  Joseph. 
You  heard  how  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the 
Lord  led  a  company  of  people,  descendants  of  Joseph, 
from  Jerusalem  to  the  western  continent,  where  they 
became  a  great  nation. 

"In  the  29th  chapter  of  Isaiah  you  read  a  pro- 


20  WHY    I    BELIEVE    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON 

phecy  which  had  been  made  concerning  these  people 
— that  they  would  be  'brought  down;'  that  they 
would  'speak  out  of  the  ground,'  and  that  their 
speech  would  'whisper  out  of  the  dust.'  You 
heard  how  this  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled  in  the 
coming  forth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

"In  the  85th  Psalm  you  read  the  prophecy  made 
by  David;  namely,  that  truth  would  'spring  out  of 
the  earth,  and  righteousness  'look  down  from  heaven.' 
This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the  angel  Moroni 
appeared  to  Joseph  Smith  and  when  the  Book  of 
Mormon  came  out  of  the  earth. 

"In  the  29th  chapter  of  Isaiah  you  read  a  prophecy 
concerning  a  sealed  book  that  was  to  come  forth, 
and  you  heard  how  the  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled 
to  the  letter. 

"In  the  37th  chapter  of  Ezekiel  you  read  a  pro- 
phecy concerning  two  sticks — the  stick  of  Judah  and 
the  stick  of  Joseph.  Here  on  the  table  lie  the  two 
sticks  referred  to  by  the  prophet — the  Bible  and  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

"In  the  10th  chapter  of  the  gospel  according  to 
St.  John,  you  read  the  words  of  Christ  concerning 
the  sheep  He  had  which  were  not  of  the  fold  at 
Jerusalem.  I  told  you  about  these  other  sheep,  the 
sheep  of  the  western  fold,  who  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  as  He  ministered  to  them  after 
His  resurrection. 

"In  the  14th  chapter  of  Revelation  you  read 
about  the  glorious  vision  which  the  Lord  gave  to 
His  servant  John  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  in  which 
the  apostle  saw  an  angel  'flying  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel,  to  be  preached 
to  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue,  and  people.'  You 
heard  how  these  things  have  come  to  pass. 

"And  now  if  you  want  to  know  if  what  I  have 
told  you  this  evening  is  true,  I  commend  to  you  the 
words  of  the  Prophet  Moroni,  engraven  by  him  on  the 
gold  plates  a  short  time  before  his  death. 


TO     BE     THE     WORD     OF     GOD  21 

"  'Behold  I  would  exhort  you  that  when  ye  shall  read 
these  things.  It'  it  bo  wisdom  in  God  that  ye  should  read 
thorn,  that  ye  would  remember  how  merciful  the  Lord  hath 
been  unto  the  children  of  men,  from  the  creation  of  Adam 
even  down  unto  the  time  that  ye  recieve  these  things,  and 
ponder  it  over  in  your  hearts.  And  when  ye  shall  receive 
these  things.  I  would  exhort  you  that  ye  would  ask 
(iod,  the  Eternal  Father,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  if  these 
things  are  not  true;  and  if  ye  shall  ask  with  a  sincere 
heart,  with  real  intent,  having  t'aith  in  Christ,  he  will  mani- 
fest the  truth  of  it  unto  you,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  (Moroni  10:3-5.) 

"There  is  much  additional  evidence  which  I  could 
adduce  to  establish  the  divine  authenticity  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  but  I  will  let  what  I  have  sub- 
mitted to  you  this  evening  suffice.  If  people — especial, 
ly  professing  Christians — will  not  believe  the  pro- 
phets, Christ,  and  the  apostles,  they  would  not  be- 
lieve though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead. 

"And  now,  my  friends,  I  ask,  What  are  you  go- 
ing to  do?  Are  you  going  to  follow  the  example  of 
the  Jews,  who,  notwithstanding  all  that  the  prophets 
had  written  concerning  Christ,  rejected  Him,  and 
brought  upon  themselves  condemnation?" 

The  family  purchased  the  Book  of  Mormon;  they 
read  it  carefully;  they  followed  the  advice  given  by 
Moroni,  and  they  received  from  the  Father — as  have 
thousands  of  others,  the  writer  included — the  witness 
of  the  Spirit  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  indeed 
and  of  a  truth  the  word  of  God. 


22  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE   BOOK  OF  MORMON 


The  Testimony  of  Three  Witnesses* 


Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues, 
and  people  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that  we 
through  the  grace  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,,  have  seen  the  plates  which  contain  this 
record,  which  is  ai  record  of  the  people  of  Nephi,  and 
also  of  the  Lamanites,  their  brethren,  and  also  of  the 
people  of  Jared,  who  came  from  the  tower  of  which 
hath  been  spoken;  and  we  also  know  that  they  have 
been  translated  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God,  for 
his  voice  hath  declared  it  unto  us;  wherefore  we 
know  of  a  surety  that  the  work  is  true.  And  we 
also  testify  that  we  have  seen  the  engravings  which 
are  upon  the  plates;  and  they  have  been  shewn 
unto  us  by  the  power  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  And 
we  declare  with  words  of  soberness,  that  an  angel 
of  God  came  down  from  heaven,  and  he  brought 
and  laid  before  our  eyes,  that  we  beheld  and  saw  the 
plates,  and  the  engravings  thereon;  and  we  know 
that  it  is  by  the  grace  of  God  the  Father,  and  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  beheld  and  bear  record 
that  these  things  are  true;  and  it  is  marvelous  in 
our  eyes,  nevertheless  the  voice  of  the  Lord  com- 
manded us  that  we  should  bear  record  of  it;  where- 
fore, to  be  obedient  unto  the  commandments  of  God 
we  bear  testimony  of  these  things.  And  we  know  tlr.it 
if  we  are  faithful  in  Christ,  we  shall  rid  our  gar- 
ments of  the  blood  of  all  men,  and  be  found  spotless 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  shall  dwell 
with  him  eternally  in  the  heavens.  And  the  honor 
be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  one  God,  Amen. 

OLIVER    COWDERY, 
DAVID    WHITHER, 
MARTIN    HARRIS. 


TO    BE    THE    WORD    OF   GOD  23 


And  Also  the  Testimony  of  Eight 
Witnesses* 


Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues, 
and  people  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that 
Joseph  Smith,  Jim.,  the  translator  of  this  work,  has 
shewn  unto  us  the  plates  of  which  hath  been 
spoken,  which  have  the  appearance  of  gold;  and 
as  many  of  the  leaves  as  the  said  Smith  has  trans- 
lated, we  did  handle  with  our  hands;  and  we  also 
saw  the  engravings  thereon,  all  of  which  has  the 
appearance  of  ancient  work,  and  of  curious  work- 
manship. And  this  we  bear  record  with  words  of 
soberness,  that  the  said  Smith  Has  shewn  unto  us, 
for  we  have  seen  and  hefted,  and  know  of  a  surety 
that  the  said  Smith  has  got  the  plates  of  which  we 
have  spoken.  And  we  give  our  names  unto  the  world 
to  witness  unto  the  world  that  which  we  have  seen; 
and  we  lie  not,  God  bearing  witness  of  it. 

CHRISTIAN  WHITMER, 
JACOB   WHITMER, 
.    PETER    WHITMER,    Jun., 
JOHN    WHITMER, 
HIRAM    PAGE, 
JOSEPH    SMITH,    Sen. 
HYRUM    SMITH, 
SAMUEL    H.    SMITH. 


